Cadence WeaponMainstage, Dawson City YK, July 19

For someone accustomed to running back and forth on stage, sneakers are a practical choice, but Cadence Weapon's first trip to Dawson City deserved a special pair — one as shiny as the gold the city's known for.

Cadence Weapon's charisma and energetic eloquence quickly filled the Mainstage tent and old favourites like "Oliver Square" rewarded fans that might never have heard him play live. After debuting "Come See Me," a lackluster new song with a repetitive refrain, he returned to more familiar and successful territory, playing the title track off his Polaris Music Prize-nominated album, Hope in Dirt City. While known for his rapping, Cadence Weapon proved he has pipes during this song, singing the mournful lines, "And I know you've found someone new/ I just can't get over you." The jumping, fist-pumping, and crowd-surfing all came to a bittersweet end as lively performances of "Sharks" and "Loft Party" met cries for an encore that never came.